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The American frontier includes the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of life in the forward wave of American expansion that began with European colonial settlements in the early 17th century and ended with the admission of the last few territories as states in 1912.

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, are the indigenous peoples of the United States. The ancestors of living Native Americans arrived in what is now the United States at least 15,000 years ago. A vast variety of peoples, societies and cultures subsequently developed.

Several frontier towns of the old west have become the stuff of legend. Places such as Dodge City, Tombstone, Virginia City or Deadwood are familiar names to anyone versed in the folklore of the old west.

Many of the characters of the old west lead larger-than-life lives turning these real people into myths. Some are household names while others are more obscure, but one thing they all have in common is their significant influence in the development of the western United States.